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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 7, March 13-March 26, 2009

Al-Jazeera Grows on the International Media Scene

Despite its international audience of 140 million households in 40 countries, Al-Jazeera English has a “fight on its hands to conquer America,” according to Rowena Mason at the Daily Telegraph. As a broadcaster in the Arab world, “associated in the popular mindset with terrorist videos” and erroneously accused by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of showing hostage beheadings, “the endeavor begins to look near-impossible.”

Tony Burman, managing director of Al-Jazeera English, remains optimistic and ambitious. “We want to rival CNN and BBC World in size and quality,” Burman states. To do so, Burman has focused news coverage on the developing world, hired journalists from well-respected rivals, and is attempting to shatter old myths about Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera English’s strength lies in its non-Western international scope argues Burman, “We are an alternative voice.”

Though charges of anti-Western bias remain, Al-Jazeera English is marketing itself as a serious news channel. “We don't devote time to celebrity or salacious crime stories,” says Ben Rayner, the executive producer of European news. “We are serious about investigative stories.”

At the fourth annual Al-Jazeera Media Forum held in Doha, Wadah Khanfar, Director General of Al-Jazeera, also spoke of a time of “great transformation” for Al-Jazeera and Arab media, reports The Peninsula. In a changing multi-polar world, “there is a need for media to better understand the realities on the ground,” Khanfar argued.

The Middle East, “a cradle of different faiths and known for old civilizations and rich culture,” and home to a dynamic, shifting political landscape, reflects the complexities that Khanfar described. Unlike Al-Jazeera, Khanfar claims, Western media has “failed to understand the reality behind what is happening in the Middle East region.”

Richard Gizbert, host of a show on the evolution of the media on Al-Jazeera, argues in Journalism that “there simply is very little media analysis of media.” Gizbert sees Al-Jazeera’s focus on online video content as a “no brainer.” According to Gizbert, “let’s adapt to something where we don’t need people, and it doesn’t cost us any money - even I can figure that one out.”

In winning the prestigious Concentra Breaking News Award, Al-Jazeera English’s “continued exceptional coverage” has been recognized, Burman argues in a press release on AME Info. Al-Jazeera’s Subina Shrestha, who journeyed up the Irrawaddy in May 2008 following Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, won the award.

Shrestha reported on the aftermath of the cyclone, focusing on the disaster’s human cost. According to Burman, “Subina's excellent reporting when faced with perilous hurdles exemplifies Al-Jazeera's fearless journalism.”

Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera Children’s Channel has also scooped an award, winning the Egyptian Ministry of Culture's Golden Award for the Best Arabic Long and Short Feature Films at the 19th Cairo International Film Festival for Children, announces AME Info. Christiane Salem, the channel’s public relations manager, says the award reflects Al-Jazeera’s role in “maximizing children edutainment in the industry.”

In related news, Arabian Television Network (ATN), the broadcasting arm of the Arab Media Group (AMG) that transmits programming to over 36 million households, has won the Best Broadcaster of the Year Award at the fifth annual Digital Studio Awards, reports AME Info.

Maryam Al Falasi, General Manager of ATN, remarked, “2008 was a landmark year for us… Our goal is to be the biggest entertainment network in the UAE in the next two years.”

Meanwhile, three Lebanese journalists have received the prestigious Inquirer journalism awards, reports the Daily Star. The Inquirer awards recognize outstanding investigative journalism. Riyad Qubaisi of New Television earned the top prize for his expose on the issue of weapons in Lebanon. His New Television colleagues Firas Hatoum and Ogarite Dandash also won awards for their reports on Lebanese street children and torture.

Finally, the annual Arab Media Forum has been scheduled for May 11-12. Organized by the Dubai Press Club, and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Forum will draw 600 guests and 50 speakers to discuss the future of Arab media.

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